Today's game was a time machine to Wisconsin Final Four game. 4 minutes to go and U.K. Is up by 5. The game is ours for the taking, its winning time and nobody steps up ,sound familiar. One could even go back and find a similar set of circumstances all the way back to West Virginia in Cals first year. What is the problem, why can't U.K. find the right stuff at winning time against the toughest teams. It isn't lack of talent or even effort. IMO it is Cals model itself that is flawed..To many freshman not enough seasoned talent on roster. It seems that to win a title, unless you are lucky enough to have a once in a decade talent like Anthony Davis, you need the kind of mental toughness that only comes with experience. It is very frustrating to watch U.K. Lose these games with IMO the more talented team. The one and done model Cal favors brings great success but only one title, IMO the only one he will ever win here unless he changes his talent mix.
-
-
We could very easily have 12 championships right now. Hard to imagine. -
The game it actually reminded me of the most was Ohio State when Brandon Knight, a freshman, hit the game-winning shot when the game was scrambled.
It actually didn't remind me of Wisconsin at all. We got a lead, yes, but it was only 7 points with more than five minutes remaining. Not like we were blowing them out with virtually no time on the clock.
And as for experience: two guys that hurt us the most in that game were seniors. If Willis or Mulder can hit a jumper we might have won it.Comment
-
Mulder contributed nothing. Not blaming him at all just the truth.Comment
-
Not blaming Cal, but was thinking how lucky Carolina was to gave seasoned vets in that game yesterday, same for Wisconsin a few years ago. Still, i fully blame the refs for a horrible first half of officiating and i very seldom ever play the 8 on 5 card, unbelievable. Fox was mauled a few times, no call. Bam was harrassed, no call.
Give Roy credit, Jackson on Monk disrupted him, Monk struggled with size,welcome to the nba. I also wonder if Marcus Lee would have made a difference this year helping Bam?
I don't blame Cal for one and dones, i blame the system. Could have easily had players like Murray, Randle,Towns, Ulis, Booker, Young,Lyles, and others on this team, who did i forget?Comment
-
Willis starts, so obviously he's going to play a lot, foul trouble or no.
But with Mulder, if you're going to keep jacking them up, one needs to go in. This is a guy who has complained openly about his lack of playing time. When you get that extended run, you've got to put the ball in the basket. He didn't and for some reason continued going back to the well.
Though I'm not sure it was any one individual player--freshman or senior--that hurt us in this game. They each had moments of great play and moments where they hurt us; North Carolina's players were the same. That's what happens in a game that close.
The over-arching argument about needing experience is probably true. You need top-shelf, five-star talent and at least some experience to go with it. But there are teams that seem to get that mix right and still come up short. Kansas is a perfect example.
The truth is it's really hard to win a title regardless of the talent/experience mix you have.Comment
-
But for all the talk about "what if so and so hit his jumpers", you had Humphries who canceled that out and then some. He played a whale of a game. By far the besf since he has been here. So where does that leave us then? We just missed key free throws and were physically outmatched. And that was the game.Isaiah 5:20Comment
-
In Cal's 8 seasons here we have gone to 6 elite 8's and 4 final fours. Yeah, he's got a bad system???Comment
-
Gary Parrishâ€Verified account @GaryParrishCBS 16h16 hours ago: John Calipari has had a preseason top-four team seven times at Kentucky. He’s fallen short of the Final Four in four of those seven seasons.
He then tried to backtrack and claim he wasn't implying anything from this tweet. But who cares? 4 final fours in 8 years is pretty darn incredible. 6 out of 8 Elite 8's is pretty incredible too. In comparison, IU hasn't been past the sweet 16, Kansas has bowed out short of the Final Four 5/7 years, Duke has won 2 titles but has also exited in the first weekend, and UNC hadn't made the Final Four since 2009 prior to last year.
I'll take Cal's results any day of the week.Comment
-
It's worth noting that Duke, the team everybody virtually handed the title to back in the preseason, had a rough year and was knocked out of the tournament in the second round.
The real lesson is that it's very difficult to get to the Final Four, let alone win a title. You keep putting yourself there then you'll eventually break through and win one, but there's a reason why our two best coaches of the modern era only have one apiece. It's brutally difficult.Comment
-
Mulder missing that layup after the steal and we had a 3 on 1 fast break was a huge momentum changer for us. He should have tried to dunk it on the guy or just make sure he gets fouled at the very least. We were primed for a run there and my heart sank when we got nothing out of it.Comment
-
Never said he had a bad system, just said it is a system that will IMO yield no more championships. His success is without question, it also appears that his model can't quite get to the pinnacle unless you have Anthony Davis in it. I want a model where there is a balance of youth and veterans, and until we get it I don't think we will hoist #9.Comment
-
Elite Eights and Final Fours are impressive, but how successful most coaches are or were is measured by NC's, in my opinion.Philippians 4:11-4:13Comment
Comment